Entries in children's art
(25)

Every once in a while, it’s interesting to set some sort of restrictions or confines on a creative task. This act can take your pen in a different direction. This can be as simple as giving yourself a round piece of paper for drawing. Because the shape is not what you’re used to, you’ll automatically produce something different than what you would normally do given a regular piece of paper. If you were given a piece of graph paper, the grid might inspire you to draw something more geometric in nature with many corners or angles.

Doodle books from Start Creative Studio are kind of like that. Each page has a line, squiggle or shape that serves as a creative starter or prompt and inspires you to consider it and imagine how it initiates your drawing, or how it becomes a component of the thing you end up depicting. The prompts in Doodle Books tap different aspects of creativity—maybe what you’re not used to (in a good way). It’s great to switch things up every once in a while. Something new and brilliant might just come of it.

Many thanks to Start Creative Studio for sending us some of their engaging doodle books! All opinions stated are my own.

No matter if you’re staying home this summer or have trips planned, your girl will have fun doodling, drawing and going places with Lately Lily, the traveling girl. I gave Lately Lily Book of Fun to Avery as part of an end-of-the-school-year gift, and she was beyond excited! It's gotten a lot of mileage already. Avery loves all of the different pages and is enjoying learning new words in other languages, thanks to Lily!

Another sensation by Isabel Minhós Martins and Madalena Matoso of Planeta Tangerina is My Neighbor is a Dog, a hilarious and zany story about a dog that moves into an apartment building (which looks almost Le Corbusier-inspired), and how his human neighbors react to his arrival. Matoso uses a quirky color palette of red, blue, pink and white and her charming and graphic style make the illustrations feel musical and animated. The take-home message of this book? Don’t judge a book by its cover, even if it’s furry and has four legs.

Another amazing book by the same duo, When I Was Born, can be found in this post.

Avery recently asked if she didn’t know anything when she was a baby, so I thought that question was a perfect segue to this book. Written by author Isabel Minhós Martins and illustrated by illustrator/graphic designer Madalena Matoso, When I Was Born is a beautiful and poignant book about what it's like to be a child and experience the world for the first time. I am in love with Madalena Matoso's bold and graphic style, and the vibrant color palette she uses to give the book a lively and playful feel.

It gives children an idea of what's it like to grow up and how much you see, hear, smell, touch, taste and learn as a baby and then as a child. Most importantly, it gets children wondering about what they were like when they were younger, realizing how much they've changed, how much they can do on their own now that they're older, and how much they're loved. It reminds us the importance and magic of first experiences and milestones. This book is a must-have!

You can read more about Planeta Tangerina, a publishing house and a design studio in Carcavelos, Portugal, specializing in communication design for children and young people, co-founded by Isabel Minhós Martins and Madalena Matoso, along with two other friends. I hope their entire incredible collection of books eventually makes its way to the U.S.!

Also, check out this lovely, lovely baby shower on The Indigo Bunting a few years back (her post might have been how I first heard about this book).